Overwhelming Majority of Iraqis Plan to Vote Thursday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2005

Washington, D.C. --On the eve of Iraq's historic elections for a permanent national assembly, a new International Republican Institute (IRI) poll found that 93 percent of Iraqis intend to vote on Thursday. This is up eight points from the poll taken in early November. In contrast to the January 2005 elections, a solid majority of voters in Sunni provinces now plan to participate in the democratic process.

A majority of Iraqis, 53 percent, cited the issue of security, the performance of the current government, party platforms, or the quality of individual candidates as the most important factors in determining their vote.

As Iraqis prepare to head back to the polls for the third time this year, their level of optimism remains high. For the second month in a row, 49 percent of poll respondents said that the country is headed in the right direction. As with the poll taken in early November, freedom and democracy were most cited as the reason the country is headed in the right direction. Iraqis also cite the existence of a nationally elected government, and the upcoming elections as reasons why the country is moving in the right direction.

In looking at the priorities for the incoming Council of Representatives, 61 percent of Iraqis think infrastructure and economic development should be the government's top priorities. By a margin of 17 points (44% to 27%), Iraqis also believe their new constitution needs to be amended. A majority (54%) of those who believe the constitution needs to be amended cite federalism and regional autonomy as their primary concern.

More than 2,700 face-to-face interviews were conducted from November 30, 2005 through December 7, 2005. Interviews were conducted in 17 of Iraq's 18 governorates. The margin of error is plus or minus three percent.

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Link to current poll:

Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, November 30 – December 7, 2005

Links to past polls and releases:

Overwhelming Majority of Iraqis Plan to Vote in December: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, November 1 – 11, 2005

Overwhelming Majority of Iraqis Plan to Vote in Tomorrow's Referendum: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, October 9 - 11, 2005

Overwhelming Majority of Iraqis Plan to Vote in Constitutional Referendum: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, September 6 - 12, 2005

Majority of Iraqis are Confident in National Assembly and Constitutional Committee: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, July 9 - 14, 2005

Majority of Iraqis Want Human Rights Protected in Constitution: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, April 11-20, 2005

Optimism Continues after Iraq's Historic Election: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, February 27 – March 5, 2005

On Eve of Historic Election, Survey Shows Iraqis Eager to Vote: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, January 13 - 24, 2005

Iraqis Remain Committed to Elections: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, December 26, 2004 - January 7, 2005

Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, November 24 – December 5, 2004

Optimistic Outlook on the Future and Support for Democracy Continues in Iraq: Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, September 24 - October 4, 2004

Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, July 24 - August 2, 2004

Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, May 27 - June 11, 2004

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